Air-lift and air-driven rotary pump



\ Get. 7 ,1924.

H. H. HENDERSON AIR LIFT AND AIR DRIVEN ROTARY PUMP Filed May 2a. 192:5

INVENToR. Helal H.Hendez-s0n 6 a YQA/y` Xb l ATTORNEY Patented oci. 7,1924.

UITED STATES Y y 1,510,990 PATENT orifice.;v

HENRI E. HENDERSON, OF S'.l0CK'.I!QN,` CALIFORNIA.

AIR-LIFT AND AIR-DRIVEN ROTARY PUMP.

Application led May 2.8,

To aZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRI I-I. HENDER- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, re-

siding at Stockton, county of San Joaquin,

State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Air-Lift and Air-Driven Rotary Pumps; and I do declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference beinghad to the acco-mpanying drawings, and to the characters of referencemarked thereon, which form apart of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in pumps, for water and the like,of that general type adapted to set vertically in a well casing, andcommonly designated as turbine or rotary pumps.

The principal object of my invention is to produce a pump of thischaracter to be driven by compressedfair, and sojconstructed andarranged that the exhaust'air is then utilized as an air-lift or boostfor the water.

I appreciate of course that in itself, to drive a pump by compressed airis not novel, and neither is the utilization of air to lift the water;but as far as I am aware, no pumps for submerged service have beenconstructed which .are 'driven by compressed air applied at a pointadjacent the pump-venes or rotor, and which then use the same air, afterit has served its driving purposes, for aiding ,in the lift of thewater.

A pump constructed according to my invention will, I believe, beinexpensive to manufacture and operate, and extremely long lived, sincethere is butl one moving member, and twoopposed bearings for the same,which 'may easily be of a character which will give long andsatisfactory service without vattention or renewal.

These'objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate correspondingyparts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation of the pump as installed in a wellcasing, partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detached view Aof a Eortion of the rotor.

4 shows a modification of the rotor. x u

' between the top and bottom of the casing 1 i Rerring now moreparticularly to the 192s. serial No. 641,918.

characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes acircular casing, provided on its inner eriphery with vertically disposedvanes 2 ormed as ratchet-shaped teeth extending substantially from topto bottom of the casingat which points the teeth are shrouded, as shownby the flanges 3. A

Arms 4 extend upwardly from the top of the casing, at a suitable angletoward each other, and terminate at their upper end in a hub or boss 5to receive the upper end of a hollow shaft 6 therein. Roller or similarbearings 7 are provided for the shaft in the upper portion of the member5, while in the lower portion thereof is a stuing box structure 8 ofsuitable form.

Secured on the boss 5 is a removable cap 9, into which the lower end ofan air supply pipe l0 is adapted to be screwed, 'and which supports .thecasing and parts mounted therein.

The arms 4r are preferably triangular in f are removably securedthereto. These pads U preferably extend the full height of the casing asribs having an easy fit in the well casing 14e, serving as abutments forone or more stops 15 of a suitable character mounted in the well asing,and preventing rotation of the the casing 1 while allowing it freedom ofvertical movement.

Extending downwardly from the lower ends of the pads or ribsf12 are arms16, converging toward each other and formed at their lower ends withaboss 17 servin as a journal and support for the lower en of the shaft 6,a suitable form of thrust bearing as at 18 being placed between theshaft and boss Vor bearing member. A. stung box 19 is provided on thebearing member 17 above the thrust bearing. These arms 16 are alsotriangular in shape, with thel apex along the outer edges thereof, andthe boss 17 is preferably pointed on its lower end, to reduce resistanceto the ow of water therepast. .A small bore 6 leads from the main boreof the shaft 6 to the lower end thereof, which is spaced from thebottoni of the bore of the bess 17.

are horizontal and suitably pitched4 imtically alined with each other,and the outer a, velocity depending o ends of the alined vanes areconnected to, and preferably formed integral with, hollow vertical arms21, extending from top to bottom of the casing 1, and having a closerunning fit therein and with the teeth 2 except that pockets or verticalgrooves 22 are provided in `their outer peripheries intermediate theirverticalend edges.

These armsare hollow as at 21a from top to bottom but plugged 'at theirends, the hollow areas communicatingwith the interior of the shaft 6 bymeans of passages 23 through the vanes 20. Bored from the arm-pockets 22to the hollow interior of the arms is a plurality of air-blast holes 24,disposed so that air issuing therefrom will impinge directly against thesubstantially radial 'faces of the adjacent teeth 2, the

pockets being of s uch peripheral extent relative to the pitch or width.of the teeth that at least one whole tooth will vbe within thepocketrarea.

'llhe1 forward or leading ed es of the arms 21 are concavely curved as sown at 25, so as to aid in sweeping the water onto the vanes.

lln operation, with the pump lowered into the water in the'well casing,ythe admission of air at a suitable pressure into the shaft 6 from thepipe 10 -will ofr course pass into the arm-passages 21, and from thenceout through the nozzles or et openings 24, Iwith course on the pressureof the air.

- rllhe jets of air, striking the casing teeth or vanes 2,l causes .thearms 21, together ofcourse with the blades or vanes 20 and shaft 6, torotate9 since the casing l is held against rotation in the stationarywell casing, as'

previously described.

llhey pltch of "the impeller blades is of course so disposed relative tothe necessary direction of rotation of the shaft that the water in whichthe pump is submerged will be forced upwardly. At the same time, the

air, after issuing from the nozzles and exerting its force to rotate theimpeller, is with such rotation released from the pockets 22 formedbetween the vanes 2 and the arms 21, and mingles with the water passingup inside the casing 1.

Since the air has considerable pressure, and in any event tends to riseto the top of the water, it acts to boost or help lift'the latter,functioning in the manner already recognized and made use of in thepumping 'art or profession.

Macnee By reason of the close fit of the armsl21 with the casing vanas,and the shrouding of the upper and lower ends of the latter, but a vveryslight percentage of the air issuing from the nozzles will escapewithout doing effective Work in rotating the impeller unit;

The small bore 6B in the lower end of the shaft 6 enables the airpressure to pass below `the shaft, when pressing upwardly thereagainst,it acts as a cushion for the shaft, relieves the strain on the bearing18, and reduces friction.

lf desired, the rotor arms 21a shown in Fig. 4r may be made with acompounding or auxiliary air drive feature, this consisting -of anadditional vertical groove or pocket 26 beyond the pocket 22a having thejets therein. vlin thismanner,with the movement of the arms past thevanes 2,l the air confined between said vanes and the arms, instead ofimmediately escaping into the casing, will first pass into the pockets26, aiding in the rotating of the arms, though of course having a lesserpressure than the air issuing from the jets.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that ll haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein. While this specification sets forth indetail the present and preferred construction of the device, still inpractice such deviations from such detail vmay be resorted to as do. notform a vdeparture from the spirit of the invention, as defined by theappended claims.`

Having thus described my invention what ll claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vpump for submerged service comprising a stationary and open endedcasing, an impeller structure turnably mounted therein, Tand means forrotating the impeller structure by compressed air applied between saidstructure and the casing from top to bottom thereof.

2. A pump comprising a stationary and open ended casing, an `impellerstructure turnably mounted therein, vertical fixed vanes in the casing,and means for rotating the impeller structure by compressed air appliedagainst the vanos fromsaid structure.

3. A. pump for submergedservice c'omprising a stationary and open endedcasing, an impeller structure turnably mounted therein, vertical vanesin the casing, airshaft, and passage means from the shaft to the jets. v

5. A pump for submerged service comprising a stationary and open endedcasing,

` an impeller structure turnably mounted therein, vertical vanes in thecasing, airjet means provided with the impeller structure and facingsaid vanes, a hollow shaft formed as the axis of the impeller structure,

passage means from the shaft to the jets,

. and anair pipe secured to the upper end of the casing and supportingthe same, the upper end of the hollow shaft communicating with' the airpipe.

6. A pump for submerged service comprising a stationary open endedcasing structure, a shaft turnably mounted centrally thereof andsupported thereby, horizontally pitched impeller blades rojectingoutwardly from the shafts, ho low arms provided with horizontallydisposed air jet means positioned at the outer ends of the blades,vertical vanes in the casing toward which the jets face, the arms havinga running lit with the vanes, and means for feeding air under pressureto the jets. Y

7. A pump for submerged service comprising a stationary 'open endedcasing structure, -a shaft turnably mounted oentrally thereof andsupported thereby, horizontally pitched impeller blades projectingoutwardly from the shaft, hollow arms provided with horizontallydisposed air jet means positioned 'at the outer end of the blades,vertical vanes in the casing toward which the jets face, the arms havinga running t with the vanes, the blades and shaft being hollow andcommunicating with the ,interior of the arms; means being rovided forfeeding air under pressure to t e shaft.4

8. A pump fgr submerged service comprising a stationary open endedcasing structure, a shaft turnably mounted centrally thereof andsupported thereby, a' plurality of vertically spaced rows ofhorizontally pitched impeller blades arranged in vertical alinernent,hollowarms connecting the vertically alined blades at their outer ends,air jet means leading from onel of the vertical faces of each of thearms, Vertical vanes in the casing toward which the jets face, the armshaving a running fit withA 9. A pump for submerged service com.-

prising a stationary open ended casing structure, a shaft turnablymounted centrally thereof and supported thereby, horizontally pitchedimpeller blades projecting outwardly from the shaft, hollow arms at theouter ends of the blades, vertical vanes in the casing,the arms having arunning t with the vanes exceptfor vertical grooves intermediate theirvertical edges which form pockets with the vanes, horizontal air jetmeans in the arms opening into the pockets and facing the vanes, andmeans for feedin air under pressure to thejets.

10. pump 'for submerged surface comprising an open ended casing havingvertical vanes around its inner periphery, an impeller structureturnably mounted in the casing, vertical' arms provided with saidstructure and positioned adjacent the casing-vanes, said arms having'spaced and vertical grooves on their peripheral faces, and jetsprojecting from the forward ones of the pockets relative to thedirection of imparted rotation and facing the vanes.

11. A pump for submerged surface comprising an open ended casing havingvertical. vanes around its inner periphery, an

impeller structure turnably mounted in the casing, vertical armsprovided with said i HENRI H. HENDERsoN.

